Maps
by slaygal166
Summary: Harry is trying to find his way after defeating You-Know-Who, Buffy has graduated High School and lost the love of her life. The two groups happen to meet at a club in New York, and their lives will never be the same. Adventure, love, and laughs ensue.


The story takes place after season 3 of Buffy and book 7 of Harry Potter. No real spoilers though if you don't remember it too well, only the obvious points are mentioned. Everyone is 18ish and taking a well deserved vacation to New York City for one reason or another (not all of which is revealed in Ch1) Enjoy!

**Chapter 1**

"Are you sure they'll let me in?" Ginny asked for the third time.

"Yes! You look hot, Gin. In fact, I kind of hope they don't let you in, I don't want any other guys to see you!" Harry said, half joking. He glanced at the other older, taller, less scrawny men waiting on line ahead of them to get into Phoenix, Manhattan's newest 18+ nightclub. Ginny rolled her eyes and turned to Hermione.

"Besides, you'll be 18 in a couple months, you're almost old enough anyway. You know what; just give me your ID, would you?" Hermione said, exasperatedly, extending her hand out.

"THANK YOU! Ooh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ginny squealed as she fished the muggle ID card issued her on request from the Ministry of Magic out of her tiny handbag, just big enough for her wand, some make-up, and a little wad of American money, muggle and magical.

"Hermione!" Ron's jaw dropped.

"Yes, Ronald?" Hermione paused smiling, wand discreetly poking out of her leather jacket sleeve, poised over Ginny's ID card.

"What if there's a jinx on the card or something? Ginny might grow a beard like Fred and George did that time, and we'll never get away with it!" Hermione's smile faltered at these words.

"No, honestly, I really think it will be alright. The ministry doesn't care much about these muggle things anyway." She raised her wand when…

"Wait! On second thought, no, I really don't want to grow a beard. I'll just take that back. Thanks anyway…really…" Ginny said grabbing her ID and blushing bright red. Hermione looked very disappointed as she slipped her wand tip back up her sleeve.

Ron and Harry smiled at each other and looked away before they would start laughing. Success. What had gotten into these girls lately, honestly?

"So, do you think Fred and George are inside yet? Nice of them to wait with us, really." Harry said to Ron with a grin.

"Oh I'm sure. Those bigheads really think they are celebrities now, ever since the muggle paper published that little piece on their new shop here. They invited us to come to the store opening with them, they could at least stick around a little bit!"

"Ron, it is a big deal, it was in the New York Times. Honestly, don't you read?" Hermione snapped, still upset that he stopped her from her little bit of magical rebellion.

"No. Look, we're moving. We're going in!" Ron said as everyone got out their IDs and Harry paid the bouncer for him and Ginny while Hermione paid for her and Ron so he wouldn't waste time sorting through muggle money and risk Ginny's birth date getting noticed. Fortunately, the bouncer was more focused on a drunk old man walking down the street harassing people to pay much attention to the young British patrons.

As soon as the group got inside, Ginny dragged Harry off somewhere to dance to the thumping music. They quickly found a wall to lean against as they danced, and Harry began to kiss her slowly. Ginny tried to kiss him back more passionately but he pushed away. Frustrated, she closed her eyes and let his gentle lips caress hers for what she knew would be the last time for a long while.

"Harry, we need to talk," Ginny said in his ear.

"Now?" He mouthed back at her. She nodded and grabbed his hand dragging him upstairs in search of a quiet nook where they could talk. Nervously fanning her self she slipped of her jacket revealing her teal tube dress. She chanced a glance back at her Boyfriend and was surprised to see him looking at her in a new way, his calloused thumbs grazing her bare shoulders as she led the way to a newly abandoned sofa far away from the nearest blaring speaker. He looked like he had to have her now. Finally, he wasn't looking at her like a little girl he had to protect! She smiled coyly at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him to her as he readily pressed against her with the first passionate kiss they shared since they had been in school together, since long before he had broken up with her for that long year so he could protect her from Voldemort. She pulled him back onto the couch and hungrily kissed him back, forgetting those horrible words she planned to say to him. Running his hands down and up her back she pulled him on top of her, unbuckling the belt cutting into her side.

"Ginny! We can't," Harry said, pushing her hands aside and sitting up.

"No! That's not what I…It was just…" Ginny sputtered, angry that her action was misconstrued.

"I am not going to…deflower you…on some beat up dirty couch in the back of a club!" He whispered angrily.

"That is not what I…Did you think I would want to do that here? And did you say deflower? God it's like living in the 15th century with you…who says that?" Ginny exclaimed angrily.

"Listen, Gin," Harry said gently as she backed away from him. He tried to caress her cheek but she pushed his hand away. "We have our whole lives to do things like that. I love you, and just being around you fills me with such joy, our love is magic…"

"We need to break up." Ginny cut him off sadly, definitively.

"We are poetry realized…wait WHAT?" Harry said, completely shocked. "You're breaking up with _Me_? Because I won't…you know…right here? Ron was right… we did let you turn into a…" He cut off his angry tirade at the look in her eyes.

"a what? Say it. You were gonna say scarlet woman, right? And what is this 'you and Ron' business, like you are in charge of me. Dammit, Harry!" Ginny closed her eyes and took a deep breath to compose herself. "You treat me like a child. I can't believe you think all I want is to shag you! I don't care about that."

"Fine then, what is it? I don't get it. We love each other. We were meant to be together!"

"How are you so sure? Every day, you tell me you love me, and I get less and less sure. I've 'known' you were the one since the day I was born but lately, I just don't know any more. I want to have fun! I'm 17 for goodness sake, I'm not ready to be married to you. And I want to be with someone who sees me as an equal, not someone who talks about our "poetic love" and makes me feel so…weak, so inferior. Every time you touch me you act like I'm going to break."

"Ginny I never meant…"

"But you did. It's over Harry. I'm sorry. Maybe one day things will be different, but for now…we're through." She grabbed her coat and purse, got up and walked away, leaving Harry sitting there, stunned.

Harry walked over to the center of the second floor where he could look down over the mass of people below amidst blinding, pulsating lights. He watched the crowd dance, meshing into one large monster of sexual energy and alcohol. Where were his friends? He saw Ginny dancing with one guy, a different guy, two guys at once. Her red hair was impossible to mistake. He fought the urge to jump over the banister and save her from their wandering eyes and groping hands. She wasn't his anymore. Maybe that was the problem, she didn't want to be "his". Harry felt guilty. He decided to let her be, and hopefully with time they'd both mature and find their way back to each other. He sighed. His sigh was not the only one. He glanced over to his left.

"Hullo," Harry said with a joyless smile to a pouty blonde girl who had also been looking down at the crowd. She smiled back the same way.

"So how come you're all bad mood-y?" she asked.

"See that redhead over there…" he leaned towards the blonde and pointed at Ginny in the crowd, "That's my girlfriend, the love of my life. Ex-girlfriend actually, as of oh…ten, fifteen minutes ago now."

"Ew, I'm sorry. I feel ya," she replied. "What happened?"

"It's my fault. Completely 110% my fault. But it's over now, I don't want to think about it. And the reason for your sigh of misery?"

"Hey you're British, right? What brings you here from the land of the tweed?"

"Er, yes I am. Now don't change the subject. Come on, misery loves company."

"Well, I…oh this is my friend Cordelia! Well friend is a bit of a stretch, but uh…" The blonde grabbed the wrist of a tall brunette walking past. "Look, he's British!" She explained.

"Oh! Well, hello gorgeous! I'm Cordelia Chase. That's Buffy, don't mind her, she has Chlamydia or something. So, tell me about yourself," Cordelia said, shoving Buffy out of the way.

"I'm Harry, pleased to meet you," he replied, looking at Buffy with raised eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes and looked back at the crowd. Oh. No. She could feel the little spidey sense in the back of her neck telling her there were vampires in the crowd tonight. And they happened to be surrounding Harry's ex. Great, just great. Taking a glance around she caught the gaze of Willow and Xander and gestured for them to follow her. Then, making sure nobody else, namely Harry, was watching, she jumped over the rail into the crowd below, knocking aside a drunk couple but otherwise landing safely on her feet.

"Oh, no. I am so not doing what she just did," Xander said to Willow from the little table they were sitting at not far from where Buffy had just been.

"Oh Xander, come on," Willow said pushing him gently off his barstool and leading him down the stairs after Buffy. "Why did we think a club would distract Buffy from Angel again? Of all the things we can do in New York! I knew we should've taken her to the Central Park Zoo! Nobody can be sad when there are seals! Damn that Cordelia and her ideas."

"We forgot that her work follows the Buffster everywhere, even across the country. Some vacation, poor girl." Xander replied. The music grew too loud for the two to hear each other once they got downstairs. They arrived just in time to see Buffy standing near a redheaded young girl surrounded by men that they assumed were vampires, judging by their smell and 80s outfits. Buffy was mouthing something at them.

"WHAT?" Xander yelled back. Buffy repeated herself and gestured at the red head.

"She wants us to distract the girl!" Willow explained to Xander.

"WHAT?" He yelled back at Willow.

"GO DANCE WITH HER!" Willow screamed in his ear.

"Ok, OW. Geez. No love for the Xand man." He muttered as Willow shoved him into the redhead, pushing the vamps aside.

"Wanna dance?" He said loudly in her ear, subtly dancing her away from the bad guys as she shrugged.

Buffy decided to take 'em down one by one. She murmured in the first one's ear that she wanted him and danced him away from the others, leading him on. She pulled him down almost to a kiss so nobody would notice the top of his head disappearing and staked him. She did the same to the next, and the one after that, and the one after that, while Willow stood by, making sure none moved on to a new victim. With each vampire Buffy reveled in her power, not as a slayer, but as a woman, more and more. Faith may have been a murderous nut job, but she had a point. Slaying did make you hungry and horny. Plus the slaying was really helping her get out some pent up anger. The last vampire was the most difficult, because he had started to wonder where his vampire friends had gone off too. Buffy pulled him off into a corner where Willow couldn't see her anymore and threw him down violently. The vamp was startled but grinned. He began to kiss her ferociously and she gave as good as she got. She pulled him up by the collar and shoved him into the wall so hard it made a dent.

"So you like it rough," The vampire growled as he got his game face on, "me too."

Just before he could sink his teeth into Buffy's neck, she staked him in the heart. The force of her fist sent him flying as he disintegrated into a pile of dust. As the dust cleared, she saw Ginny and Xander standing there, mouths agape.

"Hi, I'm Buffy. I just saved your life. No need to thank me." She shoved past Xander and ran upstairs, finding a corner to try and control the angry tears escaping her eyes. Damn it, Angel! Why couldn't she move on? Obviously jumping a vampire was not the way to go, except it did help get out some of the rage she'd been holding in, but seriously. Why did he have to leave her? Heart broken in 18 places.

"God! Get yourself together, Buffy!" She said as she furiously wiped her face and took deep breaths, trying to control herself. Shit, here comes the British guy.

"Hey. You alright?" Harry said, sitting across from her.

"Just peachy," she replied softly.

"No. You're not. But you will be." Harry moved to sit next to her. She rested her head on his shoulder as he slipped his arms loosely around her.

"Do you believe you can truly fall in love more than once? That there is more than one person who can really…make your heart feel whole?" Buffy murmured.

"I'm starting to," Harry replied, looking Buffy in the eyes. They quickly looked away. It was much too soon for any implications between them, intentional or not. The awkward silence that followed was unbearable, neither knew if they should move or not. Each was very aware that they just met the other, yet was wrapped in the other's arms. "I mean, I don't know yet, but the longer I'm apart from Ginny, the more I feel that it might be possible to fall in love again. Thinking about it, maybe we aren't really right for each other. I couldn't make her happy, at least not now. And if it's meant to be we'll be together in the end."

Buffy liked that answer and settled back down. "Your ex (Ginny is it?) seemed…nice. A little naïve."

"What! You talked to her? What did she say? Is that where you disappeared to when you left me with that girl? What did _you_ say?" Harry exclaimed looking at Buffy.

"Settle down, settle down. I didn't actually talk to her. I just saw her partake in a wild orgy with a bunch of Greaser wannabes. No big."

"WHAT???"

"Kidding! Relax. I just saw her dancing with a creeper so I got my friend to cut in. So, you weren't planning on talking to her any time soon, right?"

"Why do you ask…" Harry looked very scared.

"Nothing happened! Just if you get that worked up over an obvious joke, I don't think you're as cool with this break up as you'd like to think." Buffy quickly recovered, pretty secure Harry's ex wouldn't tell him about the little dusting extravaganza from before.

"You're right. I won't talk to her. Ginny, she's not naïve exactly, well maybe, but she's really smart. And streetwise, she can stand up for herself. It's easy to forget, and she gets pissed when I try to protect her when she doesn't need protecting. Witty too. You'd like her."

"Hmm. Maybe _I_ should date her. What kind of a name is Ginny anyway?"

"What kind of a name is Buffy? It's short for Ginevra."

"That's even worse. And hey, my name is unique, and beautiful, and awesome."

"Just like you."

"Aw shucks your gonna make me blush. I could get used to this flattery."

"Don't."

"Gee thanks," Buffy hit him lightly on the arm.

"And you hit like a girl."

"If only you knew, Buddy."

"Buffy, can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"Something else then?"

"Shoot."

"Obviously you're heartbroken, I won't ask why. But, why are you alone up here with me instead of down there dancing with your friends?"

"You met Cordelia, didn't you?

"Ha, yes. But seriously. Ginny moved on pretty fast, or even if she didn't, she's still dancing the night away."

"I'm not Ginny, and I'm tired of my friends trying to make me feel better. I'm tired of pretending I'm ok. It's sweet, but I feel so guilty dragging them down with me. And Xan hated the guy anyway. I'm trying to let them have fun for once. And avoid their pity."

"My friends are downstairs too, somewhere, completely unaware that my heart was just stomped on."

"Are you hinting at something?"

"What?"

"That you want me to leave? Cause I could go," Buffy joked.

"Don't! No I'm just saying. I like that you joke even though you're sad."

"Mm, years of practice. Unfortunately most of my puns go straight to the grave."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Bad joke. See, joking Buffy is not always funny Buffy."

"Ok then. Blame it on the heartbreak," Harry said, holding her a smidge closer.

"Gee, just when it had slipped to the backburner of my mind, you just had to bring it up."

"I'm sorry, I'm no good at this."

"Yes you are. Just hold me. I feel like I've known you forever."

"About forty-eight minutes and counting," Harry glanced at his watch.

"Gosh, that long, huh?" Buffy looked up into his eyes, face still inches from his. "Is forty-eight minutes of knowing someone a long enough time to kiss them on the cheek?"

"Actually you were safe at forty-three minutes," Harry replied, trying to stay calm. Buffy, tears in her eyes once again, kissed him on the cheek.

"You're so…good," she said.

"I've been told. So are you, I can tell. You were certainly good at that," Harry joked, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

"That was nothing. How many minutes are we?"

"Just forty-nine. Is that a long enough time of knowing each other to kiss you?"

"No, you've only been broken up an hour. I can kiss you though," Buffy said, and she did, softly, gently. "How was that?"

"Wet," Harry replied, recalling a very different girl from years past. He couldn't help laugh at that.

"Excuse me. Should I be offended?" Buffy joked.

"No, no, because of the tears. Maybe I should be offended. Am I that bad at kissing?" Buffy burst out laughing at that, and Harry found her laugh contagious. Soon, Buffy's tears were of laughter, not sadness. She wiped them away once she and Harry settled down.

"Let's try that again. Less wet this time," Buffy said, kissing him again, less nervous. He kissed her back.

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I was definitely hearing Buffy's voice as I wrote this, and pretty much the whole Buffy gang too, but I'm not sure how great I got Harry's voice. I want him to sound ridiculously sappy in the beginning because after Voldie I'd think he would be a little out of character; mixed emotions, confusing how he really feels with how he thinks he should feel. Let me know what you think so far!


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